Coming on Strong
by Summer Wonderland
Summary: Nick and Ellis have been fighting over Jamie from the start. She can't help herself so the fight never ends. Ellis & Nick x OC, Please review. Hiatus; needs to be re-written.
1. Chapter 1

_2011 update: Be warned, fellow L4D lovers! I haven't dared to touch this story since last year! It may be a Mary Sue-ish mess!_

_Well. It **is** a Mary Sue-ish mess, but whatever._

* * *

_I've renamed Jacinta to Jamie, for anyone who reads the reviews and goes "Who the f* is Jacinta?" I've also deleted the flames. I've embraced them after so long, but I just feel like I'm keeping immaturity as a tag for my story. If you think Jamie is a Mary Sue, steer clear, or suck 'em. (Because I know you want to, if you hate her so much but you keep coming back.)_

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead 2, Coach, Rochelle, Nick, or Ellis. OC's belong to me._**

* * *

The door opened, releasing a cloud of dark smoke. The kill was made not too long ago; the air was still putrid and heavy. Except for the slant of light from the other room, it was dark. He presumed someone human had killed the Smoker, but he couldn't see anyone, or anything else in the room. He walked in cautiously, floorboards creaking underneath his footsteps. He could make out the rest of the room except for the kitchen and the doorway behind the love seat, which led to a bedroom. He glanced at the table on his left, then double took at a bowl. He rushed over to it, becoming confused with the recently eaten cereal. He turned to notify the others, but noticed a sniper rifle, and a hand a few inches away.

There on the floor, lay a girl. The first thing he noticed were her cheekbones, which were flustered with freckles, and her unnatural red hair. Soft amber eyes were slightly opening, trying to catch a glimpse the boy kneeling on the side of her.

His eyes ran down her boyish figure. She was slim, and looked strong. He noticed the gashes on her right arm, and the dark bruise circling her neck. Her hands were throbbing, and covered with dry blood and dirt. There were little chunks of pulsating flesh on the carpet scattered above her head; The Smoker that was trying to kill her would've succeeded if not for her physique, and probably her reflexes.

It must have come in through her bedroom window, and waited until she came out of the bathroom to strangle her. The girl turned her head a little to the side, painfully remembering the bruises from the Smoker she encountered earlier. The boy on her side was wearing a yellow shirt and overalls, and from only the fact that he was wearing overalls, she realized that it couldn't have been anyone she knew. She spelled out the words 'Bull' and 'Shifters' on the boy's shirt, as he watched her lips work it out.

"Hey, hey, don't talk. You're already hurt pretty bad," he said to her quietly, squeezing her hand.

He bent over her to pull her up, and rested her back between his legs. Ellis couldn't help but blush; their faces were so close. This was the only girl he'd seen around since the infection so far, other than Rochelle. He was staring at her nervously, anticipating the moment her eyes would open. She let out a grunt, and he jerked. He blew out several "oh shit"s as he waited for his panic attack to end, and after her presumed state of discomfort ended, he finally pulled his first aid kit from the strap on his back to open it for bandages. He wrapped her bad arm, and slid his arm around her waist, breathing heavily. He lifted her to her feet, and they stumbled over to the love seat. He laid her down, and sat on the edge of the coffee table next to her.

"Um..." he let out a breath. "What's your n-n-n-n-name? Do you need...anything? Like pain pills or somethin'?" he asked, trying not to die from embarrassment.

She shook her head reluctantly, and whispered "Jamie."

"That's a...p-p-pretty...name," he stammered. "I'll be right back, okay, Jamie?"

Jamie turned over, and buried her face under a pillow without answering.

Ellis got up from the coffee table, whispered to himself that she thought he was a spaz, and went back to the others.

"Ellis, what took you so long?" Rochelle asked, three pairs of eyes turning to him upon arrival.

"I uh...I m-m-met a..." he took his hat off, and wiped the sweat from his face. "Aw, shit..I can't...think..."

"What's wrong with you boy?" Coach asked.

He took a deep breath, and shook the self-imagined pressure out of his head.

"There is... a girl. In there. Her name is Jamie."

Rochelle, Coach and Nick stared at him in disbelief. They hadn't seen another living person since they'd left the hotel, and Ellis hadn't exactly proved to be the brightest of the bunch...

"A Smoker almost killed her, but she's fine. I saved her."

"Good going Ellis," Rochelle smiled.

"Are you sure this wasn't some figment of your imagination?" Nick mumbled while pushing past him, barging in the room. Jamie was sitting up, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles in her jeans, before she looked up at Nick. He was soon joined by Rochelle, Coach and Ellis.

"Uh, Jamie, this is Nick, Coach and Rochelle," he said, picking back up his fluttering heartbeat.

"Hello everyone. It's nice to meet you." she smiled.

Coach and Rochelle were pleased to see that she wasn't as rude as Nick was when they'd first met him.

"So you let Ellis help you? Every time Ellis tries to help someone, they die," Nick sneered.

Jamie giggled.

"Quit that." Rochelle frowned as she nudged Nick in the arm.

Nick rubbed his arm, and kept his eyes on Jamie. "What's a girl like you doing in a shithole like this?" he asked, getting a slight glance of disapproval from Rochelle.

"I've only been here a few days. I was visiting a friend, and then...all this happened. I don't know where she is..." she paused, and visibly swallowed.

"This was the only apartment complex in the area that hadn't been overrun yet." She got up, and walked over to the group. "So, where are you guys headed?"

"New Orleans," Ellis said hastily. "Wanna come with?"

Even though she'd only met them, they seemed alright to travel with. And she could place some sort of unquestionable trust in Rochelle. She was the only other woman she knew, so they had no reason not to like each other.

"Sure. It'd be better than staying here," she smiled.

She went into the bedroom and opened the closet, arming herself with two pistols and an automatic shotgun. Ellis followed, looking around the room, then at the shotgun she held.

"You know how to use that, little lady?" he teased.

"Probably a lot better than you can." She shot him a playful smile as she returned to the living room. He followed, with a smile on his face as well.

"I'm ready to go whenever you all are, unless you wanted to stay a little longer." Jamie offered. "Whoever lived here has a lot of useful supplies," she said, strapping a first aid kit to her shoulder.

Rochelle shook her head. "We have to keep moving. Whenever we stay in one spot too long, a horde comes."

Jamie nodded, and the five of them left the apartment.

* * *

It had been seemingly hours of running and shooting infected scattered around the area, before they finally saw Liberty Mall in the distance. There were no infected around, so they could take a break; they had a chance to actually walk.

Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing since each of the five were quiet. They probably weren't going to like what they found inside the mall...

Ellis started trying to match his footsteps with Nick's, and Rochelle was counting the cracks in the concrete. They tried to distract themselves, but after about ten minutes of silence, all of their positivity was destroyed.

"The evacuation center is overrun," Nick said finally, and casually.

A soft sigh came from Ellis in the back, followed by a grunt from Jamie, and a "Shut the hell up." from both Rochelle and Coach.

Jamie stopped, standing tall in front of Nick. "Are you always such a downer?"

"You'll get used to it sweetie," he snickered, reaching to lift her chin. "Since we'll be together 'till one of us dies."

She smacked his hand away, smirking. He smiled back at her, studying her face as they continued walking. Nick could see her age in her eyes, in everything she did. She was in her twenties, and probably as gullible as she'd ever be; perfect for the facade. When they'd finally gotten rescued, life would go back to normal no matter where they'd be. He'd have a good chance of coming out on top in the new, structure-less world with his knowledge of scamming and trickery. It wouldn't be long before he'd flourish above the rest... but with his past, a criminal database and his record could easily destroy all of that. Being involved with this naive little girl however, would be the perfect cover for a 'changed' man.

Ellis was behind them, feeling a little disheartened. He felt as though he'd be the only one to hit on Jamie, whenever he got the guts to, anyway. Even though what he'd said didn't necessarily have to be flirtatious, Jamie still could have taken it that way. Nick was taking his chance with her...

He looked to the ground as he thought about what type of guy Nick was.

He's smooth, handsome, funny, and probably rich. What more could a girl want?

And in a situation like this, when it seems like the end of the world - Jamie probably couldn't resist him. Ellis wanted it not to be true, but it could've been. She was probably already thinking about what she'd say to him next, how she'd flirt with him, how they'd like each other, love each other, then...well. He didn't want to think about it.

Ellis decided he would show Jamie what a great guy he was. He could probably be everything Nick was, and a little more.

He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey Jamie, wanna race to the door?" he asked, smiling.

"Random, Ellis..." she said awkwardly. He couldn't help but feel humiliated...rejected. _She thinks I'm just childish, and plain stupid now_, he told himself.

The moment he saw Jamie take off and yell that he was gonna get burned by a _girl_, he was the happiest guy on Earth.

He ran after her, Rochelle, Coach, and Nick watching. Coach and Rochelle seemed to be the only ones who thought it was funny, though.

"Cheater!" he yelled.

The joyous mood most of them were in ended when a Charger came running for Jamie.

Ellis' jaw dropped before he screamed her name, pulling out his submachine gun. He shot after it, picking up speed while the others ran after her. It reached the gate of the lot with her, and started pummeling her into the concrete.

"Fucking kill it!" she cried. E

llis could see it banging her deeper and deeper into the ground, feeling as though he were shooting 'harder' at it with his anger. It finally died, and she pushed its limp corpse off of her body.

He reached her, and fell to his knees as he picked her up and held her close. She heard him crying into her shoulder, saying that he was sorry over and over. She hugged him back.

As Nick watched Ellis whimper over Jamie, he realized Ellis would pose a threat to his plan. _A little jealousy couldn't hurt, _Nick decided.

"It's okay Ellis, I'm okay."

He stopped apologizing, but she was still in his arms.

"Ellis...I'm ok. We need to get moving..." she said softly. As sweet as she thought this was, Nick was watching them. He looked...scary. To say the least.

He pulled Jamie up and gave her the most sincere look she could remember, just before she saw Nick walking up a little fast out of the corner of her eye.

"Jamie. Are you ok," his voice demanded, over Ellis' head.

"I'm fine, thanks Nick."

He stepped in between them, pointing Ellis to the mall entrance.

"Mood killer," he whispered to Jamie. She giggled, then straightened up when Nick turned to face her.

The whole way to the entrance, Ellis walked with his arm over Jamie's shoulders, laughing with her, smiling in her face. Nick didn't mind it, but god, was that boy persistent.

They opened the doors, praising the rush of the AC. That didn't stop them from sweating however; the mall was filled with zombies, and there were no evacuation teams to be found.

"I told you." Nick said, extending his hand to the infected. "I just tell the truth. And I'm a _downer_. Aren't I Jamie?"

Jamie rolled her eyes, pushing Ellis' arm off her shoulders.

"So how're we gonna get outta here?" Coach asked.

The group looked around the mall, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Well, nothing that would help a group of five escape a zombie infested building of three floors.

"...there's a car over there." Rochelle pointed, and the five looked over to the right corner of the first floor.

"And there's gas over there. How convenient," Nick sneered.

"Everybody get some gas. We need enough to fill up the tank." He grabbed Jamie's wrist, and started walking to the left side of the mall. "We'll search over here. Everybody else, go search wherever the hell you want."

The three of them disappeared into separate parts of the mall. Jamie saw Ellis storm off, and was a little worried. She hoped he didn't think Nick was up to something. Not that there was a reason for him to be, but she couldn't think of why Nick took her with him. Well she could, she just couldn't imagine him trying anything. He'd have to be _really_ into her to do something stupid, which was pretty unbelievable since they'd met each other less than an hour ago.

"Why do you want me alone? Trying to seduce me?"

"Well no, but if you want me to," He stepped to her, forcing her to back against a wall. One of his hands were behind her left shoulder, pulling her forward, while the other was on the wall, holding him from her body. "All you gotta do is ask."

He eased in, and his eyes became drained. Nick pulled her closer, and her upper lip was now touching his. "Is it working?" he asked. She could almost feel him kiss her, and tried her best to keep composure.

"I'm afraid not." she said mindlessly, avoiding eye contact.

She lifted her head, feeling her lips brush against his. She thought that would've told him to back off, but he didn't seem to get the message. When she lowered her head again, her eyes were forced to meet his.

"Why? You and Ellis already a couple or something?" he asked.

"No." she paused. "But..."

She couldn't find anything else to say, and she hoped Nick couldn't feel her heart racing against his chest.

"Don't worry kid. It's nothing serious," he smirked, as he pushed himself away from her.

* * *

_**Feedback is appreciated on what I've attempted to fix so far. D:**_


	2. Chapter 2

Nick grabbed her wrist again, and pulled her down the walkway. She was tripping over her feet and trying to get him to notice he was moving too fast, but there was no luck. She looked over the banister of the second floor; She needed to know if anyone saw them so close together.

Unfortunately, she saw Ellis, but fortunately, his back was turned. He was looking at something...

She looked to the distant right, and noticed a huge poster. Some 'Jimmy Gibbs Jr. guy'.

Ellis spun around, wide-eyed. "_Some Jimmy Gibbs Jr._ guy? Girl, have you _lost it!_" He shouted that loud enough for everyone to hear a mile away. Jamie hadn't realized she'd said that aloud, but even so, how did he hear that from so far away?

All of a sudden, she heard yelling coming from the corridor ahead of her on the first floor. Coach shouted that a horde was coming, and that it was all Ellis and Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s damn fault. He added a few more harsh words that aren't to be understood when yelled...

Nick rushed into a nearby gift shop, nudged Jamie behind him, and knelt on one knee. "Shoot over me. Try not to blow my head off."

She nodded, and waited for the horde to arrive. While she and Nick ripped through the zombies that came _all_ the way to the second floor just for them, she watched over Ellis. He was by himself, since Coach had immediately ran to Rochelle's aid when the attack started. Together, they had gotten at least five of the gas cans, Ellis had two, and they had zero. Jamie could tell it was going to be hard to explain coming up empty handed...

Nick had gotten off his knee, grabbed her wrist, and started running toward the escalator. She wanted to ask him why he always felt the need to yank her around, but felt that now probably wouldn't be the time to stop and scoff at his cocky answer.

They ran down the escalator, with her wrist still in his hand. Ellis watched them every minute, switching focus from them back to his share of the horde. Every one of those minutes, he got more and more sure that Nick was competing with him. He just knew it; and he must've gained some advantage. Some advantage he didn't know about, one he only gained recently. Every time a zombie got within a whole six feet of Jamie, he blew it's head off.

"Would you let me feel useful, dammit?" she screamed from beside him, dropping her shotgun to her side.

"Shut it, and let daddy take care of you," he snickered, guiding her arm back around him.

Ellis was infuriated- he didn't care about anything else Nick did today, because that just pushed the line.

He picked up his gas cans, and ran over to the car. He started to fill the tank, and for some reason, Jamie thought the air between her and Ellis got tense. He was behind them, listening to everything Nick said. He wasn't normally a jealous guy, but this was ridiculous.

"Jamie! Could you go get the gas can over there?" _Anything to get them separated, _he told himself.

"Nope, sorry. She's too busy over here with me," Nick said, with his back turned.

Ellis was a little ticked with the sarcasm in his voice. He was angered with Nick for the first time, which Ellis thought was surprising enough on his own. Jamie rolled her eyes, and started running toward the gas can in the corner.

He watched her as she ran, making sure she got back ok. She picked it up, turned around, and made it safely back - none of the infected paid the slightest bit of attention to her. He noticed though, that there was small, odd shape on her body. She was rushing to get back over to the car, and her shirt had risen up just enough to see the bottom of it. As she got nearer, he saw that it was some sort of foreign word.

She stood next to him, pouring the gas in the tank, while he stared at her tattoo under her shirt. First he wondered what it meant, then he wondered why she wore that kind of shirt today, and finally, he decided he wanted to see what it looked like on her bare skin. He just would never say that aloud.

"What's that tattoo mean?" he blurted out.

"It's just the word love in Latin. You know, one of those tattoos you get as soon as you turn eighteen... one of those tattoos that you don't really think about," she answered, bending over to get the next can into the tank.

"...Oh..." he said, returning focus to the horde. After that, he looked a bit dejected. She studied his eyes from the side, wondering why he suddenly lost interest. After perfecting her 'man brain' concentration, she understood.

_Latin for love? It means I was someone else's lover, and we were very serious about each other._

_...A turn-off._

She knew for a fact that she'd never been in love before, and if she had, she hadn't realized it. Suddenly, she regretted answering without thinking...

"I've never been in love before. This tattoo is kind of ironic, isn't it?" she asked, hoping to dismiss his assumption.

He turned his head to her, still popping off zombies with little effort. "Yeah, for a second there, I thought you were gonna tell me you were married," he laughed.

The ground started to shake, interrupting Ellis' chance to find out if she'd ever get married.

"Shit! Everybody get in the fuckin' car already!" Nick screamed.

Something big, scary and angry was coming for them. It'd burst out of a toy store. Probably one of the kids who didn't get a mega buster for Christmas.

Ellis wanted to make sure Jamie sat up front with him to avoid any shenanigans, so he reached across the passenger seat and tugged on her shirt while she was getting in.

"Oh come the fuck _on_, Ellis! We don't have time for this," Nick shouted from behind Jamie.

He grabbed her by the waist and pushed her into the back seat, making Ellis' heart drop a little. Rochelle followed behind Nick, and Coach hurried into the front seat. Both of the car doors were pulled closed at the same time. Ellis slammed hard on the gas, ignoring the thundering roar behind them as they took off through the glass entrance.

* * *

Ellis hadn't noticed until he checked his rear view mirror, but Jamie was sitting between Nick's legs.

It wasn't entirely Nick's doing, though. The back seat was only supposed to hold two people. He told himself it was better than her sitting on his lap, fondling her and whispering sweet nothings into her ear...

She wasn't leaning back, and he wasn't trying to get too close. He had his hands behind his head, while she leaned forward onto the back of the driver's seat. Neither of them were necessarily enjoying it.

...

Or maybe they were?

Either way, he dismissed the thought.

* * *

Hours had passed, and everyone was starting to fall asleep under the AC. Rochelle had finally given in, after trying to focus on the repetitive, blurring scenery for two hours. Coach was snoring, but not loud enough to disturb anyone. A peaceful sort-of silence swept over the five, entering them into the perfect state of relaxation. Jamie really didn't want to be tired, because Nick was already asleep. If she fell asleep, she wouldn't be in control. If she wasn't in control, neither was he, and something weird would happen.

She scooted forward, resting her chin on the shoulder of the driver's seat. She put a hand on Ellis' shoulder; he jumped a little.

"Hey El, are you tired?"

"Uh...yeah, k-k-kind of..." he stammered.

She elbowed Nick in the stomach. He responded with a silent "oof," and a frown.

"Ellis is tired. You drive."

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he yawned "Ok."

Ellis pulled over, and the three of them exited the car. He avoided looking at Nick entirely, Jamie noticed.

He slid into the back seat, and smacked his hands against his thighs in a rhythmic pattern. "So how do you wanna do this?" he asked, clearly nervous.

"Relax, Ellis." She got inside to sit with him, and faced the driver's seat.

* * *

Ellis quickly fell asleep, but Jamie was starting to get a bit uncomfortable. Her bottom was sore from sitting in the same spot so long.

"Hey Ellis," she began to whisper. "Can I move around a little?"

Still dozed off, he turned his head to the side. A few minutes passed, and Ellis started shifting into awkward positions. He must've been uncomfortable as well. She started to slide forward in the seat to give him a little space, and he did something...strange.

She noticed he was pulling her back, and instantly panicked. She tried to force his locked fingers apart, but it wasn't working. She grabbed his forearms, and started pulling them in opposite directions. Ellis seemed not to mind, or notice. All at once, he stopped her mighty opposition with a swift jerk backwards, and mumbled for her to 'just go to sleep.' Jamie sat there, back pressed against his body, eyes wide in shock. She ignored the discomfort in her neck from being forced to lie back, and looked to her left to see if Rochelle had noticed.

She most definitely did...

She leaned on the car door, chin in her hands, hiding her grin behind a finger. "Don't worry. I didn't see anything," she snickered.

Jamie jokingly shook her head, and buried her face in Ellis' chest to nod off.

* * *

Jamie awoke to feel the car...not moving. It was some hour of the night, which gave her the impression that something bad had happened. She saw that no one else was inside, and Nick was leaning against the rear end. She got out of the car, ignoring him as his eyes... traveled.

_No harm in at least knowing what we're dealing with, _he told himself.

"Did we run out of gas?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Nope," he said, turning to her. "Ellis had to pee." The face he made when he said it was probably meant to mock the way Ellis alerted the group of his urgent business. "I think he's just a little horny from the wet dream he was having, though."

"Uh? What," she laughed.

"Come on. He's young, and you two were pretty close to each other."

She rolled her eyes, and he decided to take lead of the conversation.

"So," he said, looking to her.

"So." Her eyes were focused on the ground.

"You and Ellis are getting a little close, don't you think?"

"Maybe. Why's it matter to you," she spat.

He shrugged, shaking his head at her. She guessed she was supposed to know why.

"That's gonna get in the way of me and you, love."

He said this with the most unbelievable confidence, and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"_Me_ and _you _aren't going anywhere, love."

"What makes you so sure? You know you can't resist me," he smiled.

"You're a cocky bastard," Jamie snarled.

"Yeah..." He rested his shoulders against the roof of the car. "But you like it."

She shook her head, unable to help the grin stretching across her face. "Maybe, if I was someone else. Someone who hated herself."

"What are you saying? Don't I come off as the most caring, sensitive, and loveable man you've ever met?"

"You don't want me to answer that question," she blinked.

"I know. It was rhetorical anyway," he said, drawing her close with his arm.

"You know," he began.

She tensed up, wondering what Nick thought he was doing.

"I know I might seem like the last person you'd ever think about doing anything with -"

She looked up at him, hoping this was not where she thought the conversation was going.

"But the world is getting smaller and smaller every day. And everyone in it is eventually gonna turn on the people that trust them," he whispered.

He felt her ask if he was one of them.

"Hell yeah I am," he chuckled. "But..."

"I would never turn on you."

He looked up, praising the moon for the killer mood it was setting.

"You're a little bit younger than I am, but I think you're smart. You'd learn fast, and I could teach you everything I know. If you would be willing to stay by my side, we wouldn't need anybody else in the goddamn world."


	3. Chapter 3

Jamie had no idea of what she was going to say to Nick.

Hell, what exactly could she say? _Uh, that's nice of you, Nick. I just don't like you that much, that's all... _

Or maybe she did, she just didn't know it yet.

"That's...sweet, Nick...never knew you liked me so much," she smiled awkwardly.

Unlucky for her, she answered, and she didn't have to. Somebody wanted his attention.

"Um, Nick..."

Startled, he looked to the left, then to the right.

Ellis.

"And just what the hell do you want?" he asked, moving his arm away from Jamie.

"I wanna talk to you for a sec," he said sweetly.

He paused for a minute, then left Jamie standing by the car. He looked back at her, signaling that he'd be back in a minute. She hoped not.

Ellis had led him a little...far away from the rest of the group, leaving Nick to wonder what he'd gotten himself into.

Ellis finally turned around, his warm and innocent smile long gone.

"What the hell is this about, exactly," Nick asked.

"I'll try to get to the point, so calm down."

_Little attitude there, eh Ellis? _he thought to himself.

"I don' like startin' drama or anything. An' I think you're a pretty great guy."

He knew what this was about; and prepared to snap at anything Ellis could come up with.

"But, don'chu think you should leave Jamie alone?"

He frowned. "If I did, it would be between her and me. How do you find yourself in the position to ask me to stay away from her? There's nothing _going on _anyway," he spat, crossing his arms.

"I wasn't askin' you to stay away from her. It's just...I kinda like her. Never met anyone I had such a good gut feelin' about."

"And...what's that got to do with me?"

"You're kinda takin' that away from me."

"No. I'm not," he said, laughing sarcastically.

"So you don't actually like her? You're just doin' this for fun?" Ellis frowned.

"Doing _what_ for fun? And it's none of your business. If Jamie decides she likes you more than me, I'm sure she'd let me know. But until then, she doesn't belong to anyone, and you can shove it up your ass." He turned from him, and started walking back towards the car.

Ellis hoped that this would've been easy. He wished that they would've walked back to the car together, still buddies.

* * *

Ellis began back to the car soon after, hands in pockets, kicking dirt along the way. Jamie jogged up to him, noticing the frown on his face.

"Ellis, what's the matter?" she asked.

He looked up, anger subsiding as soon as his eyes met hers. "Nothin'," he smiled.

"You sure? You can tell me if there is." she whispered, looking into his eyes.

For a split second, he contemplated if he should tell Jamie about Nick. Her concern gave him second thoughts.

_...Nah, _he finally decided.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks for askin' though Jamie."

"Sure thing," she said, realizing that there was indeed, something wrong.

She and Ellis walked back to the car, and Nick flashed her a smile through the window.

She shivered on the inside, but Jamie worked up the courage to half-smile back at him. It was probably going to be hard to fight Nick off, and he probably didn't take rejection too well.

_Guess it's time to start now, _she told herself.

Immediately after Ellis sat down in the back seat, she slid into his lap. Ellis clung onto her the same as he had while they were asleep.

_Perfect._

He began telling stories about his buddy Keith, sharing laughter over her shoulder. Jamie actually listened to him, gaining take in the conversation from Coach and Rochelle. Nick sat quietly, ignoring everything. He was hoping Jamie would notice how he glared at her in the rear view mirror, so she'd stop humoring Ellis. No luck for an hour.

* * *

Nick screeched at a sealed off bridge, pounding on the wheel at the man leaning over the banister.

"The fuck's going on here? Lower the bridge, asshole!" he shouted out of the car window.

"Mmmm." he rested his chin in his hand. "No can do, buddy. As much as I'd like to, the generator's outta juice. Get over here, and we could help you lower it though," he smiled.

"Ok. Thanks a lot!" Rochelle called out, smacking Nick in the back of the head. She took it back when the man in the vest walked off telling some girl that the only other survivors in the world were a bunch of assholes.

They got out of the car, and stretched for a little while. The five passed through little brick garden, a handful of zombies scattered about. Nick stayed in front, clearing most of them out. Everyone kept quiet, and followed behind. He appeared to be irritated, noted at the rate bodies sank to the floor. Apparently she couldn't take this silence, or the feeling of dejection among the five of them.

Rochelle softly called out to him. "Nick, you okay?"

He continued walking down the halls, opening the doors on the second floor of an unidentifiable store. At the end of the hallway, he stopped to check the room to the left.

"Yep. I'm fine," he said blankly. He entered, walked through the restaurant, peering out of the doorway into the rain. The five emerged from the building, picking off zombies around the courtyard before they went down the stairs. Nick still appeared to be irritated, as he claimed most of the kills.

"Somebody lighten the mood," Rochelle whispered.

Without thinking, Coach took advantage of a random memory. "Anybody eva' heard of this song called 'I Just Want To be Your Everything'?"

"Yep," Jamie and Rochelle said in unison.

"Actually, yeah. My mom used to listen to it a lot when I was little," Nick said.

"Ellis? You ever heard it?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah...Keith's ex-girlfriend used to like it. When she came over to the shop, they'd listen to it together. Doubt he liked to though."

"Know the words?" she smiled.

"Sort of. If you sang em', I'd probably remember."

"Oh, _no_. Don't sing anything," Nick said, trying to speed ahead of the four.

Rochelle began to hum the intro, and was soon joined by Coach. He even air drummed out the last part.

"_For so long,_" Rochelle began to sing, while Jamie hummed the rhythm.

"Jamie. I expect this from them, but not you. Don't ruin it," Nick pleaded.

She jogged to catch up with him. "Why don't you just lighten up, then?" she smiled.

"Fine, whatever." He faked a huge maniacal grin, making her laugh.

They walked into an alley, and Nick stopped.

"What's the matter?" Jamie asked, the rest of the group stopping in front of her.

He held a finger up to his lips. "Shh."

They were silent for a second, and Jamie turned around to shrug to the rest of the group. She spun around, hearing the struggle of his dress shoes scrape against the concrete.

"Something's got him!" Jamie pointed, running after him.

She shot it's tongue, and its' edge shriveled away as the Smoker tried to run off. Ellis sniped him in the back of the head, causing him to fall forward out of view. His scorched tongue still dangled over the ledge above them.

"You ok?" Jamie asked, helping him up.

Nick wiped the slime from under his chin, and shook it off his hand. "Yeah."

"We should probably move a little faster, guys. The zombies are gettin' a little aggravated," Rochelle suggested.

Jamie and Nick nodded, jogging up to the three. They began running; Coach and Nick in front; Jamie, Rochelle and Ellis covering the back. The rain was pouring now, cooling their skin as they worked through the alleyway.

They'd gone in the back door of a half-finished apartment building, and up two flights of stairs after collecting miscellaneous supplies from the rooms inside. The building had a bedroom and a bathroom, so it wasn't vacant. That didn't explain the empty first floor, though, lazy construction workers. They'd exited the building through its front door, happy to get back out into the rain from the humid, dusty building.

Rochelle and Jamie covered the left end of the block, Coach and Ellis the right end, while Nick scouted out the park ahead. The five re-grouped a little past the park's entrance, hearing growls of presumably many infected. The night swept over the small suburban town of Rayford, without notice. No one could see much of the park, except for what light was shining on. Ellis and Jamie stayed close together, fearing that something they bumped into would not be so kind as to remain still. Even Nick didn't want to be in front; he let Coach pass him up. While inching closer to a charming venue in the center of the park, Rochelle heard a soft, youthful voice in distress.

"It sounds like a little girl's crying. You hear that?"

"Yeah, it sounds like my ex-wife," Nick chuckled.

"You were married?" Rochelle and Jamie asked in unison.

"Yep."

Rochelle and Jamie bombarded him with questions. "What was her name?" "What was she like?" "Why'd she like you?" "_How'd_ she love you?"

"Her name was Mindy, and she was a bitch. That's all you need to know," he answered promptly.

"Wait, wait, no! What'd she look like? And what happened," Rochelle demanded.

"Yeah, and do you have any kids, too?" Jamie added.

He sighed in disgust. "She kept her hair platinum blonde, had brown eyes. She found out I was a con artist, and no. I don't have any kids."

"Huh. I knew there was something off about you," Jamie laughed. He didn't seem moved by her laughter at all. The last thing he wanted, among all other 'distractions' between he and Jamie, was for her to think less of him for...who he was. She'd have to find out soon, but not this soon.

"Can we get back to looking for the little girl," he insisted.

"Sure, Nick," Rochelle smiled. "Thanks for sharing about your wife."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

They split up, searching the corners of the park. Ironically, the little girl was in the center. Nick slowly walked up to her, kneeling beside her. He thought he heard a little mumble come from underneath her unusually long, bloody hands. Well, not a mumble, a growl. A mumble sounded more believable at the time, though.

"Hey, little girl," he whispered.

Jamie saw that he'd found her, and started towards the center of the park.

"What the hell are you crying for? Don't you know there are _zombies_ all around here? You should be the happiest little shit in the world."

"Nick, what are you doing," she snarled.

The little girl stopped crying, reducing her tears to sniffles. She started breathing heavily, and with each breath, came a deeper, more disturbing snarl.

"Hey, you don't have to get mad. I was just tryin' to help," he frowned.

She let out an ear-ringing shriek, and threw a claw at Nick. Yeah, a _claw_. He stumbled backwards, and she lunged for him. She tried to swipe at his face, but he rolled over just in time to stretch the slash across his chest to the back of his right arm. Nick let out the loudest, most heart breaking scream Jamie had ever heard.

She felt even worse when she realized that there was a possibility she might not reach him in time. Ellis, Coach and Rochelle started to run back to the center of the park, but they wouldn't have made it to him fast enough. Jamie picked up the pace, her heartbeat so strong, it felt as though she would keel over and faint on the spot. The pressure was too much! If she fainted, Nick would die. If she didn't run faster, Nick would die. If the little girl moved any faster, Nick would die.

All in a matter of seconds, a lot of things would change. The little girl was about to run her fingers into his chest, but in perfect time, Jamie kicked her down with all of her strength. She blew her head apart, but not before stomping her face one good time. Ignoring how horrified she was of herself for killing the little girl, she fell on her knees, rolling Nick over.

"Shit. Are you ok," she cried, taking off his jacket slowly. She unbuttoned his shirt, ignoring her childish urge to take advantage of this opportunity. She slipped it completely off.

His eyes were tightly shut, and he was chewing his bottom lip. "You're gonna be...okay, I promise," she stammered. She picked up his jacket, and started trying to rip the sleeve off.

"_No_," he managed. "_Thousand... _"

She blinked at him, and understood. "You're kidding me, right..."

She grumbled in disgust. He was worried about his three thousand dollar suit being ruined, even though he was going to bleed to death. She started to pull on her own shirt, ripping a strip from the seam on the side. She bunched it together, pressing it against the deepest of his gashes, which ended under his right pectoral. The others had finally reached them, revealing concern, confusion, and shock all at once with their facial expressions.

"What happened?" Coach asked.

"The little girl tried to kill him," she said lowly. "Can somebody put pressure against the rest of his wounds?"

Ellis quickly started to untie and tear off the top half of his overalls, then pushed them against Nick's right arm. He looked to Jamie the whole time he did this; he didn't want to look at Nick. It wasn't his fault, but now, Jamie was going to divert all her attention to poor ol' Nick.

"Um, I'm not a doctor or anything, but we need to keep his legs elevated above his head so he doesn't...die...from shock... and we need something to keep him warm," Rochelle offered.

"I thought I saw a safe house just outside the park gate, maybe we can carry him over." Coach said.

Jamie nodded. "Well, wait, should we move him? I don't want to make it worse," Nick heard her say. _Almost sounds as if she was worried. _

"I'm not sure. We should hurry up and do something, though," Rochelle said. "I'll help carry him, and Jamie, you back us up."

"Ok."

Rochelle kneeled above his head, waiting for Coach to signal that he was ready. He looked up, nodded, and they lifted him off of the ground. Ellis pushed him upwards from the side, helping Rochelle level his back. While Jamie picked off the small bunch of infected near the safe room, they hurried across the street inside. After Rochelle set Nick's head gently down on the ground, she barred the door, turning around with her hands on her hips.

"Now about keeping him warm...how're we gonna do that?" she asked.

"Well hopefully there are some blankets in here..." Jamie said.

It was a small, cramped safe room this time, only housed with a few shelves and a desk. They all began searching for a blanket, with no luck.

"Okay, so now what?" Jamie asked.

"One of us is gonna have to keep him warm, that's what. And it _ain't_ gonna be you," Ellis said.

Rochelle and Coach exchanged glances, apparently on the same boat. Although Coach didn't seem to actually catch on, Rochelle did, and kept quiet for now.

"..._Okay _then. So Coach is gonna have to do it." Rochelle announced.

Nick heard that, and what Ellis said. He'd pretend he didn't hear what Ellis said though, for now.

"_Don't,_" Nick grumbled.

"Aw, hush boy. I don't want me to be touchin' you either," he frowned.

Coach walked over to him, sat down in the corner between the desk and a shelf, and pulled Nick into his lap. He didn't say a word, but the look on Nick's face screamed "HELP." Rochelle and Jamie couldn't help but laugh behind their hands.

Jamie walked over to them, sitting down next to Coach. Nick moved his hand. To try to grab Jamie's, or to move it away, Ellis didn't know. Rochelle had taken him outside before he could look.

"Ellis...you don't have to tell me everything..." she paused. "But, is there something going on between you, Jamie, and Nick?"

He looked down, focusing on the brick pattern in the concrete. "Nope."

"Oh come on. You're lying. Why didn't you want Jamie to help him?"

"I never said I-" She held a hand up.

"You didn't look at him all the way to the safe room, almost as if you couldn't. And what you said a few minutes ago? _It wasn't gonna be her that kept him warm_?"

He looked off to his right, silent. After a few minutes, he gave up.

"Nick is competing with me for Jamie. An' this gives him an unfair advantage."

"Competing," she said, confused. "Advantage...?" He looked at her, hoping she would understand.

"Well that's..." she looked to her left, scratching her head. "That's gonna cause some problems..."

"Yeah, I know..." he said, returning focus to the ground.

"I'm not telling you to be ashamed of yourself for _liking_ her, but is now the right time to be fighting with Nick in some love triangle? You used to like him. Almost as if he was your favorite out of all of us. Now you don't care if he dies, and you _probably_ hope he does."

"Wait a minute now, I don't want him to _die_," he exclaimed.

"Well now. That's a step," she smiled.

"But I don't want Jamie all over him either."

She laughed. "I'm sure if you're your own sweet self, she'll like you enough."

"Enough might not be _enough_, Ro. He has to be _eliminated_."

She found his determination hilarious. "Just try to be subtle about it, ok?"

He nodded and smiled, the way he did when they first agreed to kill all sons' a bitches.

They walked back into the safe room, hearing Nick scream to 'knock that shit off, or he'd rip Coach another hole,' and Jamie's laughter. The first thing Ellis and Rochelle noticed when they opened the safe door, was that Coach was stroking Nick's hair, laughing hysterically, and that he was holding Jamie's hand. Rochelle looked to Ellis, and stared. She gave him a slight nod that said '_Remember, subtle..._'

He looked back to Jamie, then at Coach, as he slumped down against the opposite wall of the room. He drew his legs up, and buried his head between his knees. He dozed off for about an hour.

* * *

Ellis woke to find that it was almost midnight. Or past midnight. He couldn't tell. He looked up, searching to see if anyone else was awake, and was startled when he saw that Jamie was laying on her side. She was staring past him, off into the darkness.

She smiled. "Hey Ellis," she said softly.

"Hey," he whispered, smiling as well. "What're you doin' up?"

"I can't sleep." She hesitated for a moment. "Nick keeps squeezing my hand every five minutes..."

"Oh," he said, still content to find her awake.

She sat up, and drew her hand away from Nick's.

"Know of this band called The Police? I love them."

"I don't really like old bands, but I think they're alright. I think there was this one song... Demolition Man?"

She nodded, smiling. "One of my favorites. I wish I could hear it now. It's the one thing I don't like about a zombie apocalypse- no music," she sighed.

"I could play it for you. I kinda used to play bass in my band," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You were in a band?" she smiled. "That's pretty cool. When are you gonna play for me?"

"Whenever I can find a guitar," he laughed.

She walked over to the door, and signaled for Ellis to come over. He got up and hurried to the door, eager to see what she wanted. She leaned on the door, peering out into the dimly lit street.

"I'm going to miss nights like this," she whispered.

The street seemed anything but remarkable, but what she meant was the starry, summer night sky in the distance. The humidity during the hours of night struck some sort of comfort in her, and the delightful scent in the air after the rain always made time seem endless. After it rained, the world would...come back to life. Fresh almost, having all troubles and pain washed away. Ellis knew what this was like; He remembered that this was sort of...his savior before the outbreak. All he ever looked forward to when things were difficult was to enjoy watching the world after sundown. It filled him with a sense of security, like everything would get better the next day, some how, some way.

Remembering this feeling struck him with an idea.

"I wanna show you something," he whispered, taking the bar off the door.

"Huh? Show me what," she asked, eyes wide.

"Jus' trust me," he said softly.

Ellis carefully opened the door and extended his hand, showing her out. He closed the door just as slowly as he opened it, and grabbed her hand. He playfully yanked her out into the street.

"Wait! Why couldn't I at least put on some shoes?" she laughed.

"Shh," he whispered, pulling her off into the park.

She was giggling to herself, wondering what was going through Ellis' head.

_This was probably supposed to be some spontaneous romantic adventure, _she chuckled to herself.

They'd reached the center of the park where they found the little girl earlier, and slowed down. The wet grass and mud slopped underneath their toes while they walked, forcing a soft "ew" from Jamie. Ellis wanted to laugh at how she was such a _girl_, but noticed a dark figure shuffling things about near the little girl's dead body. He held her back with his arm and told her to shush; whatever it was hadn't noticed them yet. It was mumbling to itself, but it'd started getting louder the longer they stood near. Ellis couldn't understand anything, but Jamie could make out one word:

_'Mine_.'

Something was his, or going to be. It looked like he was going to take the girl's dress off, but Ellis had started running off. She couldn't tell.

He led her past a lot of apartment complexes, children's parks, and corner stores; places that made the area seem ordinary before the outbreak. She was a little confused when they'd ran in between two huge factory buildings, and down an alley. A drastic change in scenery, she noticed. She had no idea where they were going, since the end of the alley way led to a lake. Until she and he jumped off of the ledge at the end of the alley, she saw that he'd taken her to some sort of closed-off beach. He was walking in the sand now, still holding her hand.

"It's not a real beach, but it's the closest thing I know of," he said softly. He sat down in the sand, wiggling his toes.

"...Thanks." she said, sitting down next to him.

"What for," he asked.

"For taking me here. You might not think it's much, but it means a lot. I'll probably never see anything like this again...

I appreciate it."

"Sure thing," he whispered. He may not have noticed, but he couldn't help staring at Jamie. He wanted to move forward, but wasn't sure how.

"I'll always remember this, Ellis." she smiled, looking off into the sky.

He scooted closer to her, and she glanced at him before returning her gaze to the summer sky.

"Jamie?"

The warmth in his voice tickled her ear; she tilted her head a little to the side to ease out the sensation.

"Mhmm," she answered.

"I'm glad I met you," he said.

He was trying to get her to turn to him. She smiled at him, gold meeting sapphire. He congratulated himself on this little victory; their faces were just as close as they had been when they first met.

"Can I kiss you," he managed, trying to calm the flutter in his stomach.

Her heart jumped in her chest, weakening her handle on the moment. A little startled, she couldn't grasp what was about to happen, or where this could go. She parted her lips and nodded, but nothing came out.

Ellis leaned in, paused a moment, and drew back- before placing the lightest kiss on her upper lip. She was beginning to smile at him, and so was he; A signal to press on. The wind blew their worries away all at once, revealing a new sensation for them both to look forward to:

Lust.

He crawled in front of her, his body now facing hers, and took hold of her forearms. The familiar feeling he couldn't place with any memory immediately swept over him, and he wanted to press himself against Jamie's body, right then. A wave crashed against the brick wall of the beach's foundation, unsettling Ellis and Jamie's nerves. He couldn't help himself anymore, and Jamie put an end to her resistance. He stood on his knees above her, and pulled her arms around his waist.

"You an' me can have so much more than this, Jamie..." he whispered, holding her face up to his.

She ran her hands up his back, and pulled him forward as they collapsed into the sand.

The spotlight was on them; it was so right. This was how it should be, the start of their beautiful relationship. Ellis hadn't realized how much he ached to be close to Jamie, and he wanted her to ache for him, too. He teased her with his tongue, sliding it between her lips. She accepted him, and they continued playing with each other's young, uncontrollable feelings of the night.


	4. Chapter 4

The two stayed on the beach for little over 2 hours, talking about bands from the 80's, kissing, and nodding off in each others arms. Jamie decided that 2 a.m. was late enough, and that the others were going to be worried if they knew they were gone; so they walked back to the safe room.

Ellis and Jamie crept in, barred the door, and laid on the floor next to each other. They smiled at each other, happy to finally be together, and closed their eyes.

* * *

Exactly twenty three minutes later, Rochelle turned the lights on.

"Come on guys, we've got to get moving. Other survivors are might be waitin' for strays at the next evac center," she said, wiping her eyes.

Coach let out a big yawn, and helped Nick, silent at the moment, to his feet. His shirt was open, and Jamie noticed his gashes were stitched closed. She tried to remember seeing Rochelle stitch them up, but she couldn't. Everyone was asleep before they left...

Or so she thought. She feared that the others knew that she and Ellis snuck off, but ignored it. No one said anything, so she wouldn't either.

Coach and Jamie grabbed their shotguns, while Ellis, Nick and Rochelle strapped on their assault rifles.

"We should move fast, but not too fast. We don't want to put a lot of pressure on Nick," Rochelle said.

Nick looked to the floor, a little ashamed. Needing to be watched over stole a little of his pride.

Coach took the bar off the door, and started jogging up the alleyway. The four followed him up to the street, which was brightly lit with bar signs. Nick and Rochelle checked to the right, and noticed a tattoo parlor.

"Hey, anybody wanna tattoo? Not ones with color though." He looked to the rest of the group, who returned his blank, awkward stare.

"Can't do ones with color," Nick finished.

Ellis thought it'd be a little weird, but he asked anyway. "I do. I want one just like Jamie's," he smiled.

Nick raised an eyebrow. "What'd you say overalls?"

"Yeah, see it?" he pointed to it, and she cringed. She covered her stomach; the front of her shirt was torn off from earlier, and she didn't like the unexpected attention.

"You serious, Ellis?" Nick grinned.

"Yep."

"Uh, boys, we have other things to do. Like maybe getting outta here, surviving the apocalypse and the like," Rochelle said.

Nick shooed her away with his hand. "Nah it's ok, you two go on ahead. We'll catch up with you later," he said, pushing Jamie and Ellis into the shop.

He closed the door behind him, after he saw that Coach and Rochelle had ran off.

"Sit over here, Ellis." He pointed to the first chair on the right.

Ellis sat down, grinning at Jamie while Nick rummaged through the cabinets beside them. Jamie rolled her eyes at him, mouthing that this was ridiculous. He mouthed back, that this was going to mean something special. She crossed her arms, smirking, and leaned on the wall. Nick sat a box of tools on the table next to Ellis, and pulled in a stool to sit on. He took off his suit jacket, and hung it on the top of the partition that displayed various tattoos and drawings.

"Jamie, come closer."

She stepped right next to Ellis. Nick started to fumble with the equipment in the box, but Jamie paid no attention. After a few minutes, Nick finally picked up the tattoo gun. He told Ellis to lift up his shirt, but Jamie noted that he probably couldn't hold it in place for too long. She knotted his shirt, and held back her laughter at how silly he looked.

"Aw, come on Jamie don't laugh. I'm doing this for you," he smiled.

"Sorry," she said sweetly.

Nick raised an eyebrow at it, but made no comment. For now.

* * *

A half hour passed, and Nick was almost finished. He just needed to finish the last letter.

"So, where were you two a couple hours ago?" Nick asked, smirking at his deviance.

Jamie's heart throbbed so hard, it was all she could feel of her own body. Ellis didn't move, but he did glance at Jamie for a moment.

"We went...for a walk," Jamie stammered.

"A walk where? You guys must've went far, you were gone for two hours."

She frowned. When it came to Ellis, she realized that Nick would always step out of his place. "Does it matter? It's really none of your business," she asked.

"It does matter." He stopped, then leaned back to check his work. "I thought me and you had something. We were gonna get out of this together, without anyone else. Remember?"

"Nick, stop it," Ellis begged, biting his bottom lip. He began to tremble with guilt, and anger.

"I was gonna look out for you, do anything for you. I was hell bent that you and me were it..." he added a little ink to his finished result. "So you're choosing Ellis over me now, huh?"

"When did this become a competition? I never said I was choosing anybody."

Ellis looked down into his lap, disheartened. She wouldn't claim him...

"Then why is he getting the same tattoo as you? And why were you two alone for two hours in the middle of the night?" Nick frowned.

Jamie turned her head away, keeping quiet.

It seemed like an hour passed in that silence, and Nick was finally done with Ellis' tattoo.

"So what's this mean, anyway?"

Ellis and Jamie looked at each other, sharing the same expression.

He squinted at Jamie. "Well?"

"...It's Latin for love," Ellis finally blurted out.

Nick blinked at Ellis, and then turned to Jamie.

"Now that's just _grand_," he snarled.

"You're the one that insisted he get the tattoo," Jamie said, focused on the floor.

"Sorry, Nick." Ellis said, pleased with Nick's reaction.

He put the tattoo gun on the table, and smoothed out his pants.

"It's fine." He got up, and took the bandaging from his first aid kit, then he wrapped it around Ellis' middle. He stepped back, and crossed his arms.

"I dunno what else to do from here out, Ellis. Got no clue how to clean it, stop it from fading, what you should put on it, none of that..." he laughed.

"Aw, what the hell! Why'd you do it if you don't know how to take care of it? Not cool," Ellis cried.

"Don't worry, I know how to take care of you," Jamie smiled, running her fingers through his soft brown curls.

Nick hurried to the table where they sat their guns down, hiding his disgust. "Can we hurry up and get moving?"

Ellis let out a snort of laughter. He saw that Nick was unsettled, and found it amusing.

"_Ellis!_" Nick heard Jamie whisper.

He only shook his head, leaving the tattoo parlor without a word.

Nick was far ahead of the two, but still in sight. Jamie wanted to run up to his side, and say she was sorry, but she couldn't- she'd already tossed Ellis' feelings aside once today. She knew she had nothing to be sorry about, but she just wanted to clear the stale air between them...

The path was cleared thoroughly for them, or so it seemed. There were almost no infected left behind; Rochelle and Coach packed the punch of a four man team on their own. With only speed being a factor, the three eventually reached a silent street on which they spotted a young woman, an injured man, and the vest wearing monkey from earlier on the sidelines of the bridge.

They were all gawking off into the distance, near the generator, Ellis assumed. Without words, the three of them began shooting at the same thing. The ground spread out a heavy rumble as a Tank approached the three on the bridge. Nick had rushed toward it in their aid, firing away. Ellis and Jamie went separate ways, with separate concerns. Ellis wanted to find Coach and Rochelle immediately, while Jamie ran behind Nick, holding fire until she was close enough to the Tank to accurately hit it.

The Tank seemed to be confused; he couldn't choose who to kill first- the easy pickings on the bridge, or the two little birds on the ground. After minutes of swiping at Nick and Jamie, being shot at, and hurling chunks of concrete at the three on the bridge, he decided to go for the two little birds. He roared at Jamie, and began running toward her.

"Nick, it's fucking _coming_ for me," she yelled as she tried to run as far away from it as she could.

pumped fire into the Tank's face, while running backward. Nick was behind him, and they figured this Tank was in the bag. It was only a matter of time before the Tank would keel over in defeat; the woman and vest wearing-monkey were more than a big help, and the injured man on the heavy machinegun deemed himself worthy even while being the dead weight. Everyone let their last bead of sweat fall, while in a whirl of pink and white, Nick was hurled off to the side.

Ellis frantically opened the doors in the building, searching for Coach and Rochelle. He called out for them, getting no answer in return for his yelling. He then exited the building and back tracked toward the generator, since there was nowhere else to look. Running up, he found Coach exiting the generator room, while Rochelle was inside, pouring fuel. Coach and Rochelle picked up the pace as they heard the bawl of the horde getting closer and closer.

Jamie let out an 'oh shit' as she heard the horde approach, and rushed toward Nick. There was a second Tank, and it was more aggressive than the first. Nick hurried to his feet as fast as he could, but dammit, it wasn't fast enough. The Tank swiped at Nick, sending him toward the ground below the steps by the other three survivors. Jamie ignored the sound of blood flying, bones snapping, breaking, whatever. _Nick is going to be okay. Because you can make it. You've saved him before, it can be done again. _Remembering the Tank behind her, she wasn't so sure.

The vest-monkey was trying to hurry over, and assuming he'd distract it, she slid past, and in front of the Tank who was about to crush Nick into the concrete. In perfect timing, the constant fire on his backside caught the Tank's attention. She lifted Nick's weight onto her shoulders, and lugged him away from the second Tank, fearing the first Tank before she'd even processed it was in sight. She cried out in fear as the first tank swung an enraged fist at her and Nick. She dropped to the ground, letting her amazement at her second lucky save out as she heard the heavy machinegun-guy call out to her. "We'll take care of them!"

She struggled as she lifted Nick back up, and couldn't help how hard she was huffing as they limped into a nearby building. She thanked them mentally as the greasy vest monkey and girl ran down the stairs, drawing the attention of both the Tanks.

She had propped Nick up against a wall, stood back, and was covering her mouth with both of her hands. His blood was everywhere, and she had no first aid kit. Tears began to form in her eyes, and she tried to stubbornly suck it all up. But she couldn't. _He was going to die._

She slowly walked over, and knelt in front of him. He was staring at her, emotion-less, as blood ran from his nose onto his chest. She blinked away her tears, and reached out for his shoulder.

"I hate to ask..." she looked away from him. "But do you...feel ok?"

"Be better if you came over here," he managed to smile.

She sat down next to him, and scooted as close as she could get.

"Sucks to die un-loved. At least I'm not alone," he said lowly.

"Yeah," she answered, letting loose. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she let out a sob before muffling it with her hand. "I'm here for you, always will be."

Ellis could hear Nick and Jamie's voice in the next room over, and he knew that something was wrong. He placed his hand on the doorknob, almost as if waiting for something bad to happen.

Ellis pressed his head against the door, hearing Jamie sniffle, and Nick tell her everything would be fine. Nick said he was going to miss her, and she said she'd miss him too, between sobs. There was silence, and for a second Ellis felt awful for Nick's health not being foremost in his mind. Nick was in the next room _dying._ Why hadn't he just gone in and tried to help Nick already?

_Get a hold of yourself, Ellis._

He burst into the room, watching Nick kiss Jamie on the forehead a single time, while he held her head close to his chest.


	5. Chapter 5

"Zoey!" Rochelle called.

She and Coach were done filling the generator, and the horde was coming fast. Francis and Zoey were luring the Tanks out to maneuverable ground while Louis pelted them with bullets from his mounted machine gun. "The generator's filled up," she shouted toward the three.

"Ok! But," Zoey shouted, nodding to Francis before they slowly approached the bridge. "Two other people of yours maybe, are in that building over there. The Tank got to the guy pretty bad," she managed to call out while dodging a swipe from the second Tank. "He was bleeding all over the place, you should go check on them! We can handle the Tanks from here."

Rochelle added fire to the Tank while Coach tended to the horde. She turned around to signal Coach it was time to go, and they began running toward the building. As they got closer, they heard loud screaming over the cries of the horde, that of a woman.

_No, Ellis, STOP IT!_

They picked up speed, glancing at each other in confusion.

_What the hell do ya think yer doin' to her!_

Rochelle kicked the door open, to find Ellis forcing Nick on the ground by his forearms. Jamie was tugging at Ellis from behind, shouting in his ear. Ellis punched Nick in his already bloodied nose, getting an unsatisfied chuckle in return.

"That all you got?" Nick asked, spitting his blood in Ellis' face.

"Boy, what the hell are you doin'!" Coach yelled, as he yanked Ellis away.

Rochelle caught on to the situation; Ellis was done being subtle. She ran over to Nick and Jamie, pulling out her first aid kit. Rochelle quickly examined his body; the blood seeping through the arm of his suit jacket was running into a small puddle, and there was bloody chunk of glass on the floor beside him. Jamie took his jacket off, taking care not to hit the opening in his arm, while Rochelle pulled out a tiny bottle of antiseptic. She poured it over his gash, and Jamie wrapped it in bandaging.

"The Tank hit him square in the face, I think his nose might be broken," Jamie whispered to Rochelle while trying to eavesdrop on Coach and Ellis.

_What happened, son? _Jamie wiped Nick's bloody face with her shirt, and brushed at it after wards, as if the blood would simply fade away.

_He was kissin' and touchin' all on Jamie... _She looked to Nick; he stared back at her.

_Uh...you two are togetha' now or somethin'?_

She watched Rochelle cringe as she clamped down on Nick's nose.

_...Neva mind, that's still no reason for this. You see he's already badly hurt. He would've died if we hadn't gotten here, since you still woulda been beatin' the life out of him._

She snapped it back into place, Nick's cry piercing both of their ears.

_You need some self-control, boy. I neva' woulda thought you'd do somethin' like this._

Ellis buried his face in his lap, while Coach rolled a bottle of pills over Rochelle's way. She picked them up, and handed them to him. "Take these, Nick." He looked at them, then at her.

"_Now,_ Nick, we need ta get movin'. Those guys out there took care of the Tanks, but the horde'll bust in here any minute," she said, grabbing her assault rifle. Coach and Ellis stood up, and walked over to the three.

Coach lifted Nick onto his shoulders, glaring at Ellis. "Help me with him. I don't care about this little feud, you two can fight lata!" Ellis was silent in shame as he lifted Nick by his bad arm.

Rochelle had the front, and Jamie covered their backs while they made a dash for the car. "That's Zoey, girl in the pink_,_ Francis in the vest, and Louis in the tie, guys," Rochelle said over the gunfire. They finally reached the car, and piled inside. Coach was at the wheel, Rochelle was in front, and... Nick, Ellis and Jamie were in the back.

_Not good._..

Everyone seemed to notice it was a bad idea.

Coach slammed on the gas, and Jamie and Ellis waved out of the window. She was in Ellis' lap, and they both were smiling, calling out to the three on the bridge.

"Bye Zoey, Francis, and Louis!" Jamie, Rochelle and Ellis shouted. Coach waved a hand back as they took off through the crowd of zombies.

"Later," they heard Francis call. "Bye guys!" Zoey and Louis shouted. They watched as car disappeared down the highway.

* * *

"Shut it, girl!" the woman snarled. She was picking off infected while a blonde set of twins, a bearded young man, and another brunette girl crouched behind a silver Toyota Camry. One of the twins kept screaming every time a zombie got close, but it wasn't her fault. Just fifteen minutes ago, she watched her sister get torn apart by a horde. They let one of them get too close, and that was enough to end a life.

"Lady, look!" the boy in red shouted from ahead.

The woman with the only weapon was squatted on the roof of the car, firing at the Hunter that sprang up from behind a pickup truck. She shot it in the kneecap, and the boy dropped to his knees. The young man started to strangle it with his bare hands, tightening his grasp with each breath. Blood spewed into his face as the Hunter choked up his insides, but he ignored it. The Hunter's vicious cackling ended within seconds of the athlete's firm grip on his neck; he finally gave in. He released the Hunter's neck, and it fell limp onto the concrete. He stood up from the corpse, wiping the blood from his face with his polo while the woman picked off straggling zombies with excellent precision, clearly unfazed. She killed with such a...cold confidence.

"Where'd ya learn ta shoot like that?" The bearded man asked from behind the car, poking his head out. "Hot."

She turned to him, her magenta matte lipstick forming a hint of arrogance. "I'm old enough to be your mother, boy. Zip it." she said, lowering her pistol.

He snapped an "oh darn" to the twins as they giggled at him.

"So what are you guys' names...I'm Alex, and that's my sister, Lynn," the boy in the polo said, shaking the blood from his hands. Lynn stood up smiling, and flashed a wave at the others. Her aviator shades caught a ray of light, giving the bearded man the impression of a diva.

"Name's Keith ladies," he said, tipping his hat to the twins, and winking at Lynn.

"Nina," the twin in the denim jumpsuit pointed to herself. "Nona," the other smiled.

"Nina's the ponytail, and Nona's the frilly pink dress, alri' guys?" Keith said, turning from Nona's piercing gaze.

"And you, foxy lady?" he smirked at the woman.

"Mindy," she said, stretching a leg out on the car. She turned to face Alex, but noticed five figures behind his head in the distance. She pointed. "Look. More people."

"Hey look, more survivors," Rochelle said to Coach. They were getting closer to the other group, but as they got closer, Nick started to become nervous. He recognized the blonde on the roof of the car. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face as he made out all of her features. The short platinum blonde cut, the thick bangs, the dark lipstick, the all black.

It was his ex-wife.

"Hey, you know. I was thinking, maybe we should...pass them up and go our separate ways."

"What?" Coach looked to Nick.

"No way, what if they need our help?" Jamie said, blinking at them in the distance.

"They look like a buncha kids, Nick. What could they do? We'll be fine," Coach assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hi!" Rochelle called out, waving.

"_Hi_," they all shouted back in unison.

"See Nick, they're friendly," Rochelle whispered as they inched closer.

"Nuh-uh. Not that bitch in the black," he said as his eyes widened. Mindy was squinting in this direction, at him. She saw him. She knew it was him. Her face was practically screaming, "Nick!"

..._Fuck._

Mindy slid off the roof of the car, as the five stopped in front of Alex.

"My name's Alex." he started to point out all of the others as he named them. "That's-"

"KEITH!"

"ELLIS!"

They rushed into each other for a brotherly hug, followed by muffled laughter, and an adorable _'buddy, I missed you'_.

"Awwww," Rochelle and Jamie whispered to each other.

"So this is Keith, huh?" Jamie smiled as Keith nodded to her.

Alex continued, pleased with the friendship among their groups already. "That's Nina, the one with the ponytail, and Nona, the one with the frilly pink dress." Nona frowned, and pushed his shoulder. "Sorry," he smirked. "That's Lynn, my sister." She waved, a goofy grin stretching across her face. And this is Mindy," he said, as she walked up beside him. "Nice to meet you all." she said, staring Nick directly in the eyes. "And it's nice to see you too, Nicolas."

He shook his head. "Yeah, yeah. Sure, Mindy."

Rochelle and Jamie looked at each other, before the redhead's jaw dropped. "This is your ex-wife!"

"Yes, now let's not make a fuss about it sweetheart," he sneered to Jamie.

Mindy looked Jamie up and down, while smiling, to disguise her curiosity. Rochelle wasn't fooled, and gave Mindy a dirty look of her own.

"I'm Rochelle," she said, slowly moving her eyes over to Alex. "Jamie's the redhead, Coach is bald, Ellis is the overalls, and Nick's the suit."

The five from the new group couldn't help their laughter, all except Lynn. "I don't get it guys, how does any of that make sense?" she asked, waiting for Alex to explain.

He blinked at her. "...She's a bit of a dumb bunny guys," he whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's just a joke, Lynn."

"Ohhhhh, okay! I still don't get it though. Haha," she smiled. Dumb bunny indeed.

"We're goin' to New Orleans for evac Keith, you guys should come with." Ellis said, stepping back to Coach's side.

"Hmm." He started to stroke his grotesque beard. "As designated leader of the pack," he said, looking to all of "his" group. "I say we go."

"And who made you leader?" Nina snarled.

"I did. Gotta problem with that girl?" He asked, now an inch away from her face. He meant business.

However, the business wasn't enough to stop her from socking him in the stomach. He keeled over, holding his sides while Nina beamed over him with satisfaction.

"He always gets in trouble for his mouth, don' worry about him," Ellis smiled to everyone while he patted Keith on the back.

Everyone found Nina's strength and Keith's cocky attitude to be quite hysterical, but Mindy was still fascinated with Jamie. Why had Nick called her sweetheart? It probably didn't mean anything, but she still had something to be skeptical about: she knew Nick had an ex-wife. How much had he told her, and why?

"We'd better get movin' everyone. The Horde comes whenever we stay in one place too long," Rochelle said, wiping the teary laughter from her eyes.

Everyone nodded, and began walking down the highway. Ellis took this as an opportunity to talk to Jamie about what happened at the bridge, so they eased off to the left side of the road. Nick walked on the right side of the road, keeping to himself, and away from the couple's soon-to-be fight that was _his_ fault. Mindy slowed behind the group, crossing her arms and counting every step in her head.

"Cute for her to be so sleek and do a childish thang like that," Keith whispered to Coach, who wasn't paying attention. The twins were telling him that he reminded them of their old softball coach in 95'. Turns out, he remembered two adorable little blondes with really good throwing arms as well. They _were_ those adorable little blondes with really good throwing arms, and the fatherly relationship they had with Coach fourteen years ago was, in that moment, rekindled. Alex and Lynn were arguing about baseball teams, but the fight was soon ended when Lynn decided she'd compare a game to one of her cheerleading competitions. Nobody wanted to hear about her _'hot red and black spankies'_, except maybe Keith, who seemed interested enough.

The ice was broken between the eleven of them a long while before they'd reached the end of the long stretch of cars on the highway. The group came to a halt, with the smiles, laughter, and silence in back paused for a brief moment.

"Hey guys, see that billboard?" Keith said, pointing to it. Midnight Riders.

"Yah," Lynn said, popping the bubblegum no one noticed she had before.

"We're gonna cross it to get over there, since this is the end of the road," he finished.

Ellis put a hand on Keith's shoulder while walking toward the billboard, mentally awarding him a _'good thinkin'_.

The large group hopped onto the billboard one by one, to climb down the ladder. The talk between Ellis and Jamie seemed to be getting heated, as every male helped a female off the end of the ladder. Ellis somehow 'forgot' to offer Jamie his hand.

Lynn covered her mouth in shock, whispering "Oh. No. He _didn't_!" Before the humiliation was allowed to soak in, Nick presented Jamie with his hand. She was skeptical at first; then took it, as he placed a gentle hand on her side to make sure she didn't slip. He smiled at her, leaving a moment for his arm to linger around her waist. She shot him a quick smile before hurried over to Ellis, who was covering his face with a red hand of anger. He'd seen Nick's little display of chivalry, and was clearly upset. The rest of their talk only got worse.

"Sooooo, anybody like The Police?" Alex wanted to strike up a conversation with the others to mask the loud argument ahead of them, but Mindy and Nick were still tuning in. It was hard not to hear them.

"I've heard that name somewhere. Recently . . . or maybe not," Coach said, catching on to Alex's plan.

_What do you mean you don't know whose fault it was? _Jamie was apparently defending Nick, but not taking a side. _You don't have to get so worked up about it... I thought he was dying. I promise, that was it... _AndEllis just wanted her to say she understood how he felt.

Neither of them would change their stance, frustrating Mindy. How was she supposed to know what was going on if they wouldn't talk about anything else that happened? Nick was gathering information as well, but was actually successful in his pursuit. Usually if something goes wrong in a relationship, (especially when the two are young,) the wrong-doer will agree to do whatever their partner wants so they can go back to being a happy couple. Jamie, however, was not agreeing with Ellis, nor bashing Nick for being detrimental to their relationship. She was defending him because she didn't think what they were doing was wrong. Nick was actually _not_ the only one ruining their relationship...

The group had established that they would have to hear Demolition Man whenever they got the chance, by the time they realized that they were in front of a Motel; a quiet, empty motel.

"Guys, we're gonna get ambushed," Keith said, stepping to the front of the group.

"Hey hey, kid. It's my job to be the pessimist," Nick snarled, muffing him in the forehead.

Before Keith could manage a reaction, he felt warm, sticky goo raining all over his body. Nick was covered in it as well, and the both of them remained stiff in disbelief. Before anyone could try to see where the spew came from, they were covered in the sticky mess as well. Coach was the most unfortunate, as he was looking up when it 'rained.'

"Boomer." he sighed, wiping his face.

"Everybody get in the office, so we don't have them comin' at us from all sides!" Rochelle shouted.

They all huddled into the corner, and those with guns kneeled at the front of the group. They blasted away at the infected, and with each second the stench of the bile got worse. The Horde was picking up speed and becoming more aggressive, and they couldn't stay in that corner for much longer. The flood was too heavy, and it wasn't long before the office was packed with at least a hundred dirty, hot, and stinky bodies.

"Ehhh, I can't breathe in here man," Keith managed to say.

"So? Neither can I," Mindy hissed, squirming in discomfort.

"Come on guys, we gotta quit moving so much!" Alex shouted.

"Yeah, you're throwing off my aim." Nick said, still focused on his share of the flood.

After a few minutes, the horde started to decrease in number, and finally came to a halt.

Everyone rose to their feet, and rushed outside for air.

"God, we reek." Rochelle said, trying to wipe the vomit from her shirt.

"Good thing we're at a motel. I can already feel the hot water...and soap!" Lynn said, hugging herself in her imaginary shower.

"I guess we're staying here for tonight," Nick smiled, clapping his hands together.

Coach shook his head. "It might not be safe enough ta do that."

"Coach, come on...please?" the group pleaded.

Coach put his hands on his hips, trying to resist all ten of the puppy-dog faces. Didn't work.

"Alright... fine," he said.

"Yay!" Lynn screamed, high-fiving Nina in the air.

"Everybody pick a bunk buddy, we can't sleep alone. And I'm _pretty_ sure nobody wants us all to sleep in the same room," Rochelle laughed.

* * *

_**Saferooms are waaay too small in-game. **_


	6. Chapter 6

Nina and Nona locked arms, grinning at each other. Pair number one.

"Lynn, can I be your bunk buddy? It'll give us some one on one time," Keith winked.

Alex slowly turned to Keith, letting hostility and infuriation beam onto his face. Keith took a step back, blinking at Lynn in fear.

"Ummm, Lynn. _Help,_" Keith whispered.

"Alex, don't worry. I'll be totally in control!" Lynn said, reaching to grab his arm.

Alex shifted his piercing grey gaze to her and shook his head.

Her jaw dropped. "But I'm nineteen now! You can't baby me anymore," she said, poking her brother in the chest.

It wasn't fair. She was old enough, and she liked Keith. She trusted him...what more does anyone need?

"You'll always be _my _baby sister, though. _My _baby sister isn't going in off with some guy I barely know," Alex said, unconvinced.

She pouted, and took her sunglasses off to reveal the sadness in her eyes. "It doesn't matter if you know him, you can trust me. If you can trust me, you can trust Keith," she whined.

"Alex." Mindy interrupted. "Let her go. She'll be responsible for anything that happens," she said, leaning on Nick's shoulder. "Right, sweetheart?"

"Yeah!" Lynn quickly answered.

"Fine." He shot Keith a dirty look. "Do whatever you want," he said, walking off towards the motel rooms. Pair number two.

Everyone was silent as Alex walked away, alone. It was genuinely heartwarming that he was concerned, but Keith didn't seem like a womanizer. She _was_ going a little overboard by asking to be in a room alone with a stranger, but Lynn wouldn't do anything stupid. There was nothing to worry about; she had common sense, if not anything else.

"Guys, I think I'll go talk to him," Rochelle whispered, as she started off toward Alex. She called out his name, waving.

"Alex, wait up!"

He turned around, and when she caught up he started to rant about how unbelievable Keith was. The ranting continued as they picked their room, and went inside. Pair number three.

Coach looked at Jamie, Jamie looked at Ellis, Ellis looked at Nick, and Nick wondered why Mindy was still on his arm.

"Nick, let's share a room," she smiled up to him.

"Uh." he said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Come on, don't be like that!"

"It's not like I was hoping you wouldn't ask, so sure Mindy." he smirked.

She smiled, and the two started walking together.

"Wait...what did you say?" she frowned.

"Nothin'," he said as her pulled into their room. Pair number four.

Coach felt the air between the three of them getting tense. As much as he didn't want to get involved, he asked anyway.

"Are you two gonna be ok?"

"Is Jamie gonna stop starin' at Nick like I don' notice?" Ellis spat.

"Ellis, what the hell! I was not-"

"Yeah you were! You were prolly jealous 'cause Mindy was all over him..."

Jamie remained quiet, with her jaw open. It didn't seem right having her feelings stepped all over... not by Ellis. She did stare at Nick and Mindy, but it wasn't out of jealousy...it just seemed like Mindy was doing it to get at her nerves.

But, why would it get on her nerves?

_...Exactly._

"I'm sorry Ellis, but it wasn't like that," she said, looking off into the night sky. "You can trust me, I would never lie to you."

Something fired up inside her, striking her with fear. She couldn't believe herself; she was lying already.

He tilted her head back toward him with a finger. "Promise?"

Coach crossed his arms, pleased.

"Promise," Jamie said, smiling.

Ellis pulled her in for a hug, squeezing tight. He kissed her forehead, and locked his hands with hers.

"We'll be alri'," Ellis said to Coach, and smiled all the way to their room on the second floor.

Ignorance is bliss.

Coach picked the room next to Rochelle and Alex's, and was happy to hear that Alex felt better; there was laughter coming from next door. He headed straight for the bathroom, so he could hurry up and get out of his filthy clothes.

* * *

Lynn sat at the foot of the bed, combing through her hair with her fingers. She picked at her fingernails frantically, trying not to worry about what would happen when Keith got out of the shower. Before she had any more time to think about it, he flung the door open, flashing her a smile.

"I dunno why my brother was worried earlier, sorry about that," she blurted out, still fiddling with her fingers.

"Its alri', I wouldn't want some guy tryin' ta sweet talk mah pretty sister either." She raised her eyebrow, and the laughter following warmed his heart. He decided from then on he wanted to make her laugh more often.

"Is there a' airport nearby, or is that jus' my heart takin' off?" he grinned.

It made her laugh even more; she had to cover her mouth with her hand so it so wasn't loud.

"Don't cover your mouth. I love your smile, an' your laugh is cute," he said, looking into her eyes. He hadn't noticed from across the room- but one of her eyes was a really light shade of blue. The other was grey, like Alex's. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference if you weren't staring very hard.

"Was your daddy a thief? 'Cause someone stole the stars from the sky and put 'em in your eyes."

"Oh my god Keith, stop it!" she laughed. Tears were running down her cheeks, and she let out a snort.

"Ha! Even your snort is cute," he said, flicking her nose with his finger.

She slowed her laughter into a grin, batting her eyelashes at him. "Whatever."

Lynn liked Keith a little more now. She thought his sense of humor was already pretty charming from when they'd first met- he was singing a song called Love to the World, during a zombie apocalypse, as he knocked the head of a Spitter off its shoulders with a baseball bat. Now she'd made her first friend among the last people on the planet, and he might be a little more than that.

* * *

"Those two better not start bumping above us," Mindy snarled.

Nick rolled his eyes, and headed for the bathroom. "Ellis doesn't have the balls," he muttered.

"Don't close the door, I have to wash my clothes." she called.

He shut the door, and quickly undressed.

"Nicolas, I asked you not to close the door."

"So?" he spat, and hurried into the shower. She burst into the room, disappointed. _That was fast,_ she thought to herself. "You want me to try to wash your suit?"

"Nope." he quickly answered.

She turned on the water in the sink, and pulled up the knob atop the faucet. The water from the shower slowed as the water in the sink rose.

"Cut it out, Mindy." he said, in a fatherly tone.

"Quit acting like you don't know me anymore," she hissed back.

"I don't. And you know there's a laundry room outside? You don't have to wash your clothes in here."

"Asshole..." Mindy slammed her fist down on the knob, draining all the water in the sink. She snatched up his suit, and stormed out of the room. The door creaked in pain as she pushed it closed and spun around, cursing to herself. She noticed Ellis looking over at her, with he and Jamie's clothes in his arms.

"What are you looking at," she said, watching him with a scowl as he strolled past.

"Jus' wonderin' why you look so mad. Sorry," he said, not looking back.

She followed him into the laundry room, watching him wave at Rochelle, Alex, and the twins.

"Hey Ellis," Rochelle smiled, purposely ignoring Mindy.

She turned her nose up, and walked to the far side of the room.

"Hey Rochelle." She smirked at Mindy, and he noticed the cards in their hands. "Where'd you guys get cards?"

"They were in the top drawer of our nightstand. I think every room has some," Nina said, trying to peek at Alex's hand while he was so content with staring at Nona.

Ellis walked over to the washing machine next to the one that had the others' clothes inside. "What're you guys playin'?" he asked as he pulled the door open, and put the bundle of clothes inside.

"Bullshit," Nona said, focused on her cards.

"And Alex has already lost." Rochelle chuckled.

He looked away from Nona, startled. "Huh...what do you mean!" he frowned.

"Nothing, nothing." Nina laughed, holding her cards close to her face.

Ellis tightened his towel around his waist again, and walked up to the table to watch.

* * *

Nick darted his head left and right, making sure no one was outside. He jogged up the stairs on the far right side of the motel, and began looking for their room number. He scanned the doors as he passed, not realizing he'd already found it. He took a couple steps back, and twisted the doorknob to room twenty-five. He walked in gripping the towel around his waist, carefully closed the door of the room, and listened for a shower. Nick sat down on the bed, and looked to the floor as he realized what he was doing. He had less time than he thought to prepare an explanation before Jamie would be done- he heard the water stop and it was silent for a few moments before the door swung open, steam following. Jamie emerged, rubbing a towel over her head of messy curls. She turned, and her eyes widened as she stumbled backwards onto the tile of the bathroom floor.

Nick hurried across the room. "Are you ok?" he laughed. He stood in the doorway and caught an eye-full, letting out a "holy shit...!" as she slammed the door in his face.

"Sorry kid," he chuckled.

Jamie was on the floor, naked, cheeks burning with embarrassment. She stood up, rubbing the pain in her elbows from where she fell. "Give m-m-me my towel," she stammered.

He searched the room, then spotted the stack of towels on the dresser across from the bathroom. He cracked the door, and slid the towel through. She took it, wrapped herself, and exhaled before she opened the door.

_Oh, this is just perfect._

She opened the door, and looked up at Nick. He stood expressionless, peering down into her golden eyes. Almost as if what just happened was normal.

"The hell are you doing in my room!" she shouted. "No- _me and Ellis's_ room! If he sees you in here, _half naked_, it'll make everything worse!"

"Shut up, _you'll_ make everything worse if you keep being so loud," he whispered as he shook her by the shoulders. "I'm not staying in that room with Mindy. She's trying to...talk to me now."

"When does this become my problem?" she asked, pushing his hands off.

"She hated me when she left me. Now all of a sudden she's-"

"Wait, never mind, Nick, I don't care," she interrupted. "Go talk to Coach about it, he's in a room by himself. And I'm screwed if you don't leave now."

"Fine, but I think this is your fault. Gim'me a kiss goodnight, kid." he ordered.

She slapped him upside the head, and pushed him toward the door.

"Alright, you don't have to be so rude." he hissed.

He opened the door with a smile, wondering if Jamie would think about this later on. His thoughts were interrupted-

there was none other than Ellis, standing in the doorway.


	7. Chapter 7

First, Ellis blinked. He gave it some thought, give him credit. The rest of the credit however, is undeserved. His blank expression turned into a scowl, and the anger must have bested him when he swung a fist into Nick's jaw. The sound of Ellis' irrational anger colliding with an innocent face overwhelmed both he and Jamie as Nick staggered backwards. Ellis kicked him over, and got on his knees to continue fighting for his 'respect.' Eyes wide, and full of shock as opposed to fear, Jamie cried out.

"Ellis! It's not what you think, get off him!"

Jamie tried. _Pull him off, throw your shoe, anything!_ Nothing worked. Since screaming to the rest of the group would alert a horde to their location in the motel, she darted for the door. She ran as fast as she could downstairs, banging on every door, unable to remember which of those were occupied.

"Hey, somebody open up!" she said, trying her hardest not to be loud in her current state of panic.

Alex and Keith emerged from two separate doors, and Jamie could practically hear her mind yell _thank GOD_ into her eardrums.

"I need you to get Ellis off of Nick, he just came in and started hitting him," she huffed in a whir.

"Whatchu mean? Like, in a real fight?" Keith asked, walking toward Jamie.

"Yeah, we need to hurry!" They began _walking _faster, as if that would help.

"To hurry, means to get moving a little faster than that!"

The three of them took off running, Keith and Alex exchanging glances between the first and second floor staircase. They finally came to see Nick and Ellis on the floor in the doorway, and it seemed as though the tables had turned after Jamie left.

Keith pulled Ellis toward the bathroom, but Alex didn't have to put a finger on Nick. He stood up, steadying his jaw with his hand as he glanced at the other four in the room. Jamie looked at Ellis first with a scolding glare, then to Nick.

"I'm sorry Nick, I didn't know he would-"

"Why're you apologizin' ta' him," Ellis snarled, cutting her off.

"Because we weren't doing anything. You just came in and started swinging," she spat back.

Nick shook his head, and pushed past Alex. "You two are ridiculous."

"Hey, wait," Alex called softly, reaching out the doorway.

"...Never mind," he said awkwardly, while watching him leave, and letting his hand drop. Nick probably didn't want to stay here, so he didn't bother to run after him.

Loud bickering insulting all under the age of twenty nine could be heard from his presumable position between the staircases, and after that, silence.

Jamie had been biting down on her bottom lip since she watched him go, and after he left she sat on the bed. An awkward silence of heavy breathing and questionable stares filled the air of the room for a long, tension-building, five minutes.

"I think you guys should leave." Jamie finally said, dawdling with her fingers.

"Right," Alex and Keith said in unison before quickly exiting the room.

Ellis looked at Jamie, then to the floor. He slowly walked over to her, taking caution not to strike a nerve. He'd never seen any kind of anger from her, but he knew every woman had one thing that they absolutely would not tolerate...

"I'm...sorry. I shouldn't have done that," he said.

"Oh! You think so," she asked, reeking of sarcasm. He sat down on the bed next to her, and thought about holding her hand. Now probably wouldn't be the best time, as he learned would be for most things he wanted to do.

"Nothing happened, you know. He came in, I told him to get out, and he was going to leave." Jamie said, looking off to the side.

He felt so ashamed of himself. "I...I dunno what came over-"

She held her hand up, cutting him off. "You're getting very violent...and I don't like it. At all."

He looked up at her, trying to tell her a million times he was sorry with his eyes. "Can we jus' pretend this never happened?"

"I don't think Nick'll pretend he never got hit in the face for no reason."

"This ain't about how he feels," Ellis said, quite curtly.

She looked at him in utter disbelief. "What is it with you, Ellis? Why are you so..."

She mumbled the last word under her breath, but Ellis could read the word between her lips. He blinked a steamy tear away at Jamie, hurt and angry. "I ain't jealous!"

She didn't believe him. She made sure she gave him a look that said she was disappointed that he wouldn't tell the truth, and kept quiet.

"I'm _not_ jealous, Jamie!"

She slowly nodded. "Yes, you are."

"Really now?"

"Yeah," she said, crossing her arms.

He blinked away what might've been the first time Jamie would ever see him cry. "What am I jealous of?" he retorted. "I'm jealous of, lemme guess, how close you guys are? Or is it that you guys're secretly in love or somethin'?"

Her heart was torn out of its spot in her ribcage, and dropped into the toxic acid of her stomach.

"That's a little farfetched, don't you think?" she quickly answered.

"No, 'cause I'd only be jealous if somethin' was goin' on between you and Nick. S'there somethin' you wanna tell me...?"

She was shocked at how quickly she was the one at fault. "N-n-n-o, I...I just meant that..."

He gave her a moment to explain herself, but she couldn't. Ellis blinked at her a few times, and she started to chew her bottom lip again. She was choking inside, trying to spit something out. Ellis started to get up from the bed, and she closed her eyes, hoping to find something to say to him. The words were burning in her throat, but she couldn't get them out. Seconds passed with her eyes closed and without a word, the door was slammed shut.

She got up and hurried to the door; no one was outside. She looked over the banister to see Keith, Alex and Ellis walking off. Ellis was talking, but she couldn't make out anything. She kept her eyes on them as they walked further away, but couldn't help but think about Nick. Ellis accused her of having these feelings for him that no one except Ellis, knew about...

She ran down the stairs on the side of the motel, realizing there was nothing she could say in short enough words to explain what was going on between her and Nick. She didn't even know _what_ exactly was going on between her and Nick.

When Jamie reached the bottom of the staircase, Alex, Keith and Ellis were nowhere to be seen. Her brain shut down- this wasn't what she expected. She began to pace the walkway in front of Alex and Rochelle's room, contemplating what to do. Her thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like Rochelle's soft voice, and she was talking to someone. By the sound of it, she was offering advice or something of the sort. She walked out into the parking lot on the left side of the motel and was startled by the voice behind her; Rochelle was closer than she expected. Rochelle and Nick were leaning against the wall she sped past, talking.

"Speak of the devil." Nick said, making Jamie nervous of the outcome of this encounter already.

"It wasn't my fault," she said, turning to face them.

"You don't have to tell me. You should be telling that to your punk ass boyfriend."

"Guys," Rochelle interrupted, holding her hands to the both of them.

Jamie held her glare on Nick, and Rochelle tapped Jamie's shoulder to draw her attention. "What're you gonna do to fix this?"

Jamie felt a little hostility in her question. She felt she didn't need to fix anything; it wasn't her fault, and she'd stick with that.

"Nothing's wrong. Ellis is just-"

"Ellis is just nothing." Rochelle interrupted, mocking Jamie's tone. "I know Ellis was wrong for attacking Nick-"

"_Both_ times." Nick and Jamie added.

"Yeah, both times. But why is it he always catches you two in awkward, unexplainable, situations?" Rochelle asked, raising her hands to her hips. "All those times weren't Ellis's fault, were they?"

"No, but..." Jamie felt the same problem she had earlier coming on again. "Well…" She couldn't think of anything to say.

Nick sighed. "If you like me kid, that's great. But you gotta do something about your boyfriend first," Nick said, as if he was giving fatherly advice.

"Don't just say it like that, asshole," Rochelle snarled. "It'd be wrong altogether to do anything with Nick, even _if_ and _after_ you broke up with Ellis. You'd have to get as far away as possible from Ellis, and then…" she paused. "Ugh. Even then it's still wrong."

Jamie was disappointed with herself. She was probably losing all of Rochelle's respect right now, and she couldn't think of any other way to regain it.

"I know I was indecisive, it was pretty childish of me. But I'm going to fix things with Ellis," she blurted out.

Rochelle revealed a slight smile. "How?"

"I'm going to break up with him."

Rochelle's smile faded away, and Jamie had already accepted that it would.

She shook her head, and spoke.

"Look. You're one of us, and I love you just like I love that knuckle head, this ass, and Coach. But until you get your shit together, we don't talk." Rochelle said. She hesitated at first to stay with them a little longer, then began walking back to her room when she realized Jamie had nothing more to say.

Jamie stared at the ground after Rochelle left them. _How could you screw up with the only people on the face of the earth? Even after ten years you still can't get it right. You're ridiculous._

"Bummer," Nick chuckled.

Jamie slumped to the ground, covering her face to muffle the coming sobs.

"Oh, geez." Nick frowned, kneeling beside her.

He wrapped his arms around her, occasionally rubbing her back and gently pushing her head onto the flat of his chest. She cried in his arms for ten minutes, until both of their arms and chests were soaking wet from all the tears. She began to ease out of her sobbing, and Nick returned his focus from the old red Chevy in the parking lot, back to her.

"Are you done," he whispered mockingly.

"Yeah, asshole," Jamie said quietly, calming herself.

Nick loosened his grip to make space between them, and Jamie scooted back. "I know what just happened sucked, but what'd you have to cry for? Rochelle'll come around."

She wiped her face and eyes, pushing his arm away aggressively. "It's not that simple. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't care why, anyway."

He laughed in her face.

"I wouldn't, and I don't. But you can tell me anyway," he smirked.

She snarled at him, and put her legs down to sit on the concrete. "It's just that...I can never seem to stay on the right foot with people. Long story short," she sighed. "I used to be the girl everybody liked, and people mistook that kindness for weakness," she said. "After a while everyone just started to use me. Or walk over me."

He looked into Jamie's eyes for a brief moment. "And?"

She frowned, confused as to why he wasn't seeing her point. "This went on for seven years."

"…don't see where this becomes a problem," Nick said, raising an eyebrow. She kept quiet, disheartened that having no one for seven years didn't move him.

"It could've been a lot worse; you sound like you're using that as an excuse. Are you a orphan?"

She blinked at him.

"Were you living on the street for those seven years until your dad found you one lucky day?"

"No. Are _you_ an orphan? And were you living on the streets for seven years?" Jamie asked, rubbing the flakes of dried tears from her cheek.

"I had a place of my own when I was sixteen," he chuckled proudly. "You'll get over yourself."

She managed to smile at him through her sadness, and her following gaze was then lifted to the two white towels in front of them.

Ellis and Rochelle had appeared from around the corner, and the air was suddenly filled with silent tension.

"Are you really gonna break up with me?" Ellis finally asked, clenching his fists together.

Jamie opened her mouth, but couldn't speak. Ellis shouldn't have had any idea about it yet. This was Rochelle's doing obviously, and she didn't want to break up with him in front of anyone…so suddenly.

"Yeah, she is," Rochelle answered for her.

Ellis swallowed, and got down next to her. He started to shake his head. "No, I wanna hear her say it…"

He grabbed her hand and held it in between their bodies, looking into her eyes. "Are you really goin' to do that ta' me?"

Jamie felt Nick and Rochelle staring her down. After she gave him her answer, whatever it may be, the air between those three would be stale. Hostile or untrustworthy might be better words for it, but either one would feel the same.

She decided to go with her intended plan. If it was worth it…if Ellis was worth it… they'd eventually be back together.

"…Yeah," she whispered, squeezing his hand gently.

He blinked and swallowed at the same time, flashing the twinkle in his hungering eyes for the last time. He got up, and Rochelle patted him on the back as they both walked away.

Nick and Jamie watched them go, and remained silent as they both pondered the future of the group. They were on two completely different boats, however.

"Oh my god," Jamie whispered to herself.

"What?" Nick asked.

"I shouldn't have done that!" she got up, and started to rush towards the parking lot. Nick threw his arm out to grab her ankle, and began to pull her back. "It's too late for that now, kid!"

She tugged her foot away, trying to get him off- but with each second came a realization, and her motivation to resist became weaker. She finally stopped struggling away from him, and let steamy tears fall into her hands for the second time today.

Nick let out a groan of disappointment, scrambling to his feet to comfort her once more.

She wanted to apologize for sobbing all over him again, but Jamiecouldn't help herself. She had Ellis by her side for a sweet second, and loved every moment of it. Now, all of that was gone because she'd tossed him aside as if they'd shared absolutely nothing this entire time. Her eyes screamed for more tears, wanting to get rid of all her self-pity at once. She was so ashamed, and upset with herself. Right after she'd pushed him away with a broken heart, she could already feel herself longing for Ellis to come back. Jamie wanted to tell him that she was _very _sorry, and apologize for how she'd put a wall between her and Ellis when it came to Nick. She'd realized only now, that she always defended Nick. She expected Ellis to understand feelings she harbored for someone else, and didn't even understand those feelings herself.

_How could I do that to him…_

Jamie buried her face into Nick's bare and comforting chest, wanting so desperately for him to offer her a solution. She wanted him to give her an easy way out, and she had a feeling he could do it if he tried to. It was wrong of her to think that all he did was cut corners, but she'd already confided in him once and it proved to be useful. Nick's 'advice' explained enough about simple solutions; when you're in a rut, do it how he does it. With so few words and in so little time, he gave her an answer. Although he did it indirectly, all that mattered was that Nick was trying to help. She wanted him to be there with an answer again.

She sniffled up the rest of her tears, and turned her head to the side to face the parking lot.

As her cheeks dried with the soft breeze flowing over the motel, she thought of how wonderful it would've been to be sleeping with Ellis right now. A half lidded smile slid across her face as she began to remember every moment she'd had with Ellis. There weren't many since the time they were together had been so short, but it seemed as though the list could go on forever…

She was barely attentive to his intentions while she was lost in the past two days, but as Nick lifted her face to his, her mind hadn't been able to process the words "Stop him."


	8. Update on Updating

First off.

HOLY COW is there enough Nick/Ellis yaoi? ! I love the pairing... but geez! The first two or three pages in the Nick filter are mostly slash. XD

And on to my point... instead of a real chapter, I have to throw a short A/N out here. Because summer is coming up (3 months will go by super quick) and I need to get ready to be ambushed by all of you who've been waiting for a chapter 8. (BTW, I'd greet your ambush with open arms. :D)

From the mixed reviews and my own opinion of what I've read after a couple months, I think I'm going to make some changes, so if you have any suggestions on how to fix little things you don't like about this story, now is the time to do so.

If anyone (especially Nick) is OOC, or Jacinta bothers you, be sure to let me know. That's what I'm looking to fix right now.

Remember, every non-asshat suggestion is welcome.

**_Also, If you think this story should be in slot #1 for the list of stories I am to finish over the summer, please vote for it in the poll on my profile!_**


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